Israeli undercover security forces eliminated four Palestinian Authority terrorists in an operation Thursday in the terrorist hotbed town of Jenin.
#شاهد لحظة تواجد القوات الخاصة وسط جنين، وبعد محاصرتها من قبل الشبان ومقاومين pic.twitter.com/NQdYTFVKJi
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The operation was launched in response to information received from the Shin Bet intelligence service, pinpointing the whereabouts of terrorists who were allegedly planning to carry out attacks in the coming days.
Among the dead terrorists was a top commander from the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group, Nidal Amin Hazem, a member of the group’s “Jenin Battalion.” Hazem, a cousin of the terrorist who carried out a deadly attack in Tel Aviv in April 2022, was the main target of the operation. Three Israelis were murdered in the Tel Aviv attack, which took place around the time of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, known to trigger an escalation in terrorism.
In addition to Hazem, senior Hamas terrorist Yousef Abu Shreim was killed, as were two others, Amr Iwadin and Louis a-Za’ir. Israeli sources said seven others were wounded in the operation; the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry claimed 23 were injured, including five seriously.
A fifth terrorist was neutralized when he tried to attack the Israeli fighters with an iron bar, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported.
Following the shootout, Israeli undercover forces were exposed, according to reports by Channel 12 and Israel’s KAN News public broadcaster. A mob reportedly surrounded the IDF vehicle and hurled rocks and other objects at the forces, who fired into the air and fled into a nearby store. A second IDF force was called in to extract the fighters.
Miraculously all Israeli personnel returned safely to base. “IDF security forces will continue to operate to thwart terrorism and maintain the security of the State of Israel,” the IDF said in its statement.
Spokesperson for Hamas and PIJ both threatened retaliation for the raid.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif a-Kanou threatened in a subsequent statement that the “crime of assassinating the heroes of the resistance in Jenin will not go unanswered. Our people and the resistance are capable of harming Israel and making it pay the price for its crimes … no one will be able to stop the expansion [of the resistance] or prevent its response,” he said.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesperson Tarek Izz a-Din called the operation “a crime of cowardly assassination” and warned, “Israel bears full responsibility and will pay the price for these crimes.”
